The divine power made available to the believer to sustain his spiritual life is the same power that appeared for the first time, 2,000 years ago, when our Lord Jesus Christ became the first to be filled with the Spirit. The relationship of God the Holy Spirit to our Lord Jesus Christ in the incarnation set the precedence for Church-age believers. He provided a special ministry for our Lord, and He provides an identical ministry for us. During the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union, our Lord’s humanity was sustained by the filling of the Holy Spirit. This was prophesied in the Old Testament.

 

ISA 11:2* “And the Spirit [God the Holy Spirit] of the Lord [God the Father] will rest on Him [Jesus Christ], the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and [occupation with] the Lord [God the Father].”

 

ISA 42:1* “Behold, My Servant, whom I sustain; My chosen One in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.”

 

Our Lord declares the prophecy fulfilled in LUK 4:17-21, “And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor, He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.’ And He closed the book, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’”

            In order for God the Father to judge our sins, our Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ, had to be acceptable to the righteousness of God. As a result, He was uniquely born by the power of the Holy Spirit both physically and spiritually alive, perfect in the midst of totally depraved mankind. He was born free from the devil’s authority, from the control of the old sin nature, from Adam’s original sin, and from the judgment of spiritual death. Though our Lord was perfect at birth, He also had to be perfect when He reached the Cross. This means our Lord could not commit any personal sins or operate apart from God the Father during His life on earth. Jesus could only fail in one way, by using His own volition to violate the Father’s plan for His life. This was the reason for Satan’s relentless efforts to hinder the Lord’s walk toward His destiny. He was tempted far beyond anything we will ever face, and He remained steadfast throughout, operating within the filling of the Holy Spirit all the way to the Cross.